Sunday, 7 August 2016

"We choose to… do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard."


My latest blogpost: "We choose to… do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard."Tweet this! Posted by Mark Wadsworth at 09:55

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7 comments:

James Higham said...

Hard but necessary.

7 August 2016 at 10:55
Mark Wadsworth said...

JH, the choice was £60 for a new table and one hour putting it together following the instructions; or spending £15 on wood and £3 on screws and spending four hours dismantling half the old one improvising a new top. I went for the latter.

I suppose in a couple of years I will do the same exercise again when I replace the legs...

7 August 2016 at 13:56
Lola said...

'trigger's table ' then?

7 August 2016 at 17:21
Woodsy42 said...

There is no satisfaction in doing a job that is too easy.

7 August 2016 at 21:51
TheFatBigot said...

Two words of advice.

Teak oil.

You can often find it in pound shops and a few hours of application will make even unseasoned wood last well. It will take a few hours because the first application must be left to dry before rubbing it down with wire wool and then applying a second coat - then a third and fourth to get the oil well into the wood.

Sand the legs of the table and apply teak oil, sand the bench and apply teak oil. When dry, again use wire wool to rub them down then apply more teak oil at least two more times.

Wood will always last if it is treated with any product that seasons it. Teak oil is currently the most economical.

If you have little plastic containers like yoghurt pots, stick teak oil in them and stand the legs of the table and bench in the pots (after sanding) for a few hours.

You will be amazed what a difference it makes.

8 August 2016 at 06:06
Barnacle Bill said...

I fully endorse Mr FB's advice, my mother has a garden bench that will soon celebrate it's half century. Yes it was a "quality" product when she bought it but she has insisted it is "oiled" yearly.

One of my tasks on my annual pilgrimage to see her is to tend to her bench. Usually I give it a good scrubbing, let it dry, then on with a couple coats of teak oil. Usually have it upside down, leaving it so until it has completely dried.

I've already done it this year but Mr FB's information about the yoghurt pots will be enacted next time.

8 August 2016 at 07:46
Mark Wadsworth said...

L, very much so.

W42, I like an easy life to be honest, but every now and then you have to set yourself an intellectual and practical challenge, the other challenge is minimising waste (by only replacing the top half of the table). My previous challenge was respraying a nasty key scratch on my car and that was a bit of an epic fail.

TFB, ah, now you tell me. The time for major teak oiling and wire wooling would have been while it was still in slats pre-assumebly, that is easier and gives a much better all round coating.

B, ta, good to know.

8 August 2016 at 08:00

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